Why You'll REGRET Going to Disney's Hollywood Studios on August 16th

Planning a trip to Disney World? You need to be careful when picking your days in the parks!

Whether you’re worried about crowds, weather, or special seasonal offerings, it’s important to do a little research before you decide which days to visit Disney World. And if you’re hoping to go to Hollywood Studios soon, there’s something important you should know!

On August 16th, 2025, Hollywood Studios will be closing early at 6PM, according to the hours listed in the My Disney Experience app. The park is typically open until 9PM, so if you choose to visit on that day, you’ll be losing 3 hours of park time.

Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this happen at a Disney World theme park. Occasionally, a single park will close a few hours early for a special event, like Cast Member appreciation or a large corporation renting out part of the park. However, this is usually pretty rare, so you probably won’t have to worry about it happening during your trip.

The time that you DO need to be on the lookout for shortened park hours is if you’re visiting during the months of August to December. Typically, this time of year is when Disney World hosts Halloween and Christmas parties, and you may find shortened park hours on specific days to accommodate those events.

For instance, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party both cause Magic Kingdom to close early. Those parties happen multiple nights a week during their respective seasons, and since they begin at 7PM, Magic Kingdom will close to daytime guests at 6PM. If you don’t have a party ticket on those nights, you’ll have to leave.

So now that you know to check park hours before you visit Disney World…what other research do you need to do? Well, it also might be a good idea to scope out the crowd situation before deciding on your park days. Typically, you can tell how crowded Disney expects things to be each day of the week based on ticket prices for the parks. The higher the price, the more crowded it will likely be.

It’s also important to check the calendar and see if anything important is happening on the days of your trip. If a new entertainment offering is premiering, a new ride is opening, or a special event like an EPCOT festival is starting, you may find the park to be incredibly busy. Similarly, you may want to WAIT and plan your visit until after the attraction opens or the festival starts.

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And if you end up at Hollywood Studios on August 16th because that’s the way the schedule works out? Well, it might not be all bad. We often find that on the days that Magic Kingdom closes early for the holiday parties, the park has very low wait times and crowds. The same has been the case for the other parks when they’ve closed early on occasion.